Venus Wars
by Krys Ryder
Summary: We thought we could never master Venus, but a single asteroid changed that. Due to terraforming, the countries of Aedaria and Siral can live on the planet without having to scramble for safety. But they're not on the best of terms. War breaks out. Humankind scatters across the solar system. Memorex, the lead ship, wants to kill them all. Can a group of unlikely heroes stop this?
1. Prologue

_**Venus Wars**_

_**Chapter 1 (Prologue)**_

_**ZEXAL**_

_**A/Ns: Um, yeah, I really do hope I can do this. I haven't done a space fic since I first started writing, ha. (And that fic was horrid, let me tell you.) Anywho, this fic was inspired/given to me by Arlownay. Some thanks to her for giving me this fic idea! :D**_

* * *

_Prologue…_

_I stared out the window dully, frowning slightly. The landscape had become more beautiful, yes, but I was feeling a bit lonely out here, on Venus. I could see a long-extinct volcano in the distance, the only mountainous terrain for miles (Venus wasn't a planet with lots of tectonic activity- not since the asteroid hit). Sickly orange light (which I had grown accustomed to years ago) spilled over the yellow-brown rocks, signaling that the year/day was coming to an end. It was so odd, how the day, once longer than the year, had become just a normal part of my life. Funny how I didn't notice how the light made the land so brilliant before, when I was still a pawn for Siral._

_"Daddy!" came the yell before the door to my office was thrown open and a little boy came running in, hugging me around the waist before I knew what was going on. Laughing, I gently patted the spiky blonde hair on his head._

_"Ennis, I'm surprised to see you up," I said, gently pushing him back after a moment. He stared up at me, smiling. It was then that I noticed that he was missing one of his front teeth. "Did you lose another tooth?"_

_"Yes, daddy!" he said, poking at the space. "Mama said that I'm gonna get money from the Tooth Fairy once I go to sleep tonight."_

_Almost as if she were summoned by mere mention, Ennis' mother and my fiancée stepped into the doorway, leaning heavily on the frame. She had her prosthetic leg on, something I could see due to the slit in her long skirt. "He said he wanted to come see you before bedtime."_

_"Oh?" I picked Ennis up, seeing much of his mother in his face. He smiled at me, the space in his teeth making me laugh again. "Let's hope that space doesn't last forever!"_

_"Yeah," Ennis agreed, giggling. As I sat down in my chair, I let him perch himself in my lap so he could play with the model Nemesis on my desk (the Nemesis was definitely a good ship, in my opinion), having it fly around one of the other ship models I had, the Defender (it was the most powerful of the six I had, Nemesis ranking second, while Retribution ranked third). "Hey, daddy, can you tell me a story?"_

_"Sure," I replied. His mother had disappeared back into the hallway, possibly to the bedroom. "What do you want me to tell you about?"_

_"About you, mama, and Uncle Yuma and Uncle Shark…" He began to list all the 'relatives' he had, something that made me roll my eyes. _

_I stopped him before he talked far longer than his lungs could handle. "Okay, okay, you want to hear what happened when we met?"_

_"Yes! That one!" Ennis clapped his hands, hugging the model Nemesis and Defender to his chest. "You and Uncle Shark and Uncle Yuma were total awesome people, right?"_

_"Yep." I ran my hand through his hair, smoothing it out some; he was such a goofy, and sometimes grubby, kid. "You want to hear all of it?"_

_"Yes!" he replied. Smiling from ear to ear, he leaned his head on my chest. "My daddy is so cool…" I heard him murmur to himself. That statement warmed my heart._

_"Okay, kiddo, I'll tell you," I said. I held him close as I began…_

* * *

Venus was once a planet of intense temperatures and pressure. The day had been as long as its year. Lead could melt into a puddle on the ground within a matter of seconds. Spacecraft could be crushed by the immense weight of the air on them in a few hours. No water could have existed on the planet with its harsh environment.

This all changed when an asteroid, named Gilgamesh50, slammed into the planet sometime during the beginning of the twenty-first century. Around 2013, the planet had sustained enough damage from the asteroid that its atmosphere had been lessened a great extent, its day had become the same as its year, and large acidic seas from the asteroid had filled the planet's slight mountainous terrain. From this catastrophic event, three continents were created: one to the north, one to the south, and a small one located right in the middle.

Humankind saw this as an opportunity to spread our race. We began to send manned ships to Earth's sister as soon as we had shuttles available; by 2017, we had our first colony on Venus, terraforming it to our standards. By 2030, the colony had grown and split, separating onto two of the three continents, the North and the South. Thirty years afterwards, these colonies now have names, and consider themselves countries: Siral on the southern continent, and Aedaria on the Northern continent. Communication between the two countries was peaceful and constant, eventually bridges being built to the middle continent in order for the citizens of both to have contact. The ties to Earth and its inhabitants were kept and sent through a massive ship named Memorex; Venus' own artificial moon while in construction, being built right in orbit.

However, problems began to arise as Venus' population began to multiply, towards the end of the twenty-first century. Aedaria, with its purpose being to promote culture and to remember Earth as the home planet of humans, began to clash with Siral, whose people consider violence over negotiation. Siral wanted to unite the two countries once more, destroying ties with Earth to become its own separate government. Siral threatens war against Aedaria if they cannot reach this goal, but Aedaria refuses. This starts the war between the two countries, and the bridges connecting the two to the middle continent are destroyed, leaving the people who had decided to live there on the small, dry continent.

While the situation on Venus grows dire, the problems on Earth become more intense. The planet, overrun by life, is dying, and the humans and animals that dwell there are forced to leave. Memorex, now completed and having been moved to the orbit of Mars, orders a planet-wide evacuation to the partially-terraformed Red Planet and to the moons of Jupiter, who have small colonies already. Transporter Gates are being built in order to connect all colonies together in order to make travelling between them easier.

By 2116, Aedaria and Siral have been unable to resolve the conflict between them, having disconnected all contact from Memorex and the rest of the human race. The Killer Commandos, a group of highly trained soldiers ranging in age from twelve to forty-three, are Siral's main military, while Aedaria has formed the Aedarian Freedom Force. Fulton Tenjo is the leader of Siral's military while Kazuma Tsukumo is the leader of Aedaria's. All while this is going on, a third group, named the Independent Rebel Assembly (IRA for short), formed on the middle continent from the people left behind by their countries. A man named Sydor Kamishiro leads this group, which wants to reconnect ties with the rest of mankind.

Meanwhile, the vast networks of Transporters and colonies have gone across the Solar System, from the dwarf planet Eris to the asteroids in the Asteroid Belt, and Mars. All of them are led by Memorex, and desperate attempts have been made to try and connect to Venus, but all have been in vain.

The inhabitants of certain colonies, including the ones on Venus, have begun an intense game while the War and evacuations have been ongoing. Using one-wheeled motorcycles, participants race either in teams or solo around a track encircling a huge area, consisting of obstacles and deathtraps. Some people are kidnapped and forced into the sport; some compete just for the thrill. But these Games are deadly, and if you lose, you either die or are sent somewhere where you probably will die.

The year is now 2125. The war on Venus has been going on for years, and yet nobody seems to be winning. Memorex has given up trying to contact the Venusians and instead has resorted to a plan to destroy the planet entirely. IRA wants to get off the planet and back to humankind. Siral desires power. Aedaria just wants to unite the people in peace, without war and discrimination. A group of unlikely heroes is forced into the fray.

But who will win?


	2. Prelude to the Saturn Run

**_Venus Wars_**

**_Chapter 1_**

**_A/Ns: I won't be starting where you guys think I'll be starting, eh._**

* * *

The woman came up to the glass of the waiting room, staring out at the stars and the several moons that would pass the station. She turned her attention to the giant ship docked outside; it was loading many other ships so construction of the dyson sphere could be conducted. It was said that building such a massive piece of technology was going to take a century to complete, but with the many self-replicating ships being brought, it might take only half a century. Scientists were still experimenting with the newfound idea.

Too bad she wouldn't live long enough to see it completed.

Droite closed her eyes, trying not to picture the mathematical graphs and the charts that she would see pop up whenever she was concentrating on something. Yet, even as she kept her eyelids shut, the observations and numbers would still be flashing, showing every detail, every calculation of what she had seen. She honestly didn't care about the mass of Titan, or its diameter, or the colonies currently residing on it; all she wanted was a moment of peace, not some curse that was eventually going to make her go mad.

"You shouldn't think so hard."

She opened her eyes and turned to see her partner, who was in his flight suit, prepared fully for the Saturn Sprint they were competing in today. Gauche merely frowned at her when he saw her pupils adjusting size, analyzing him.

"I'm sorry; I simply can't turn it off." It was an honest admission; she had had the ability all her life. It's not like she wanted to be a Cy-Tech. "No matter what I do, it won't go away."

"Just don't think as much, and it won't affect you nearly as bad." He came over to her and gently patted her head (something she relatively disliked; being nearly two feet shorter than him wasn't helpful whatsoever). "C'mon, we got to do this for Haruto and the others."

She sighed. Haruto, the little boy she and Gauche constantly tried to take care of, was currently living in the Ursa colony on Titan. He and the Tsukumo family (Akari, Mirai, and Haru) were really the only people they helped; Droite and Gauche won the races and the prizes, giving what they could to them. It was the only way anyone could survive under Memorex's control.

"I know." Shaking her head, she picked up her helmet from the table near the only couch in the room. "We have to get Haruto to his brother, no matter what."

…

Haruto was sitting excitedly on his chair, swinging his legs back and forth as he gazed up at the screen hovering on the wall. Images of the racers for the Saturn Run were sliding through, during which the reporters spoke to each one and announced their age and specialty in these races. They were currently interviewing a man with shaggy brown hair, known as Akira 50 (he was an android; androids were common nowadays, ever since Memorex was finished). The female reporter continuously asked the poor non-human questions, to which he replied in monotone.

"And next, we have Droite and her partner in crime, Gauche!" The reporter's image was replaced by a short profile for the said two; Droite had a picture of herself when she first started competing in the Solar Championships (she had been fifteen and fresh out of school at the time, which was almost five years prior), while Gauche had a current picture and sporting his famous goofy grin. When the profiles came down, the reporter was standing next to the two; Droite was leaning most of her weight on one leg, her hip out so that she could hold her helmet, and Gauche was standing behind her, smiling with his hands on his hips.

"So how are you two on this lovely Saturn day?" the reporter asked, beginning the interview. Droite didn't look particularly happy; she kept sighing and glaring at the reporter (who merely ignored the fact that she was getting a stare down; damn those cyborgs). Gauche, however, was enjoying it and swiftly answering the questions. Haruto was too busy staring at the two ships behind the pair.

The Nemesis was Droite's ship, the only one she had flown since she could pilot a spacecraft (at age twelve). Completely black and having two independent engines that could swivel to do a dangerous maneuver called the Crazy Ivan plus a tail shaped like an X, it was a ship built purely for offense. Almost no armor and a weapon rack to even rival the ones that guarded Memorex, the Nemesis was deadly and stealthy, the second fastest ship in the Verse. Painted onto the side, near the cockpit, was a butterfly with massive fangs and blood pouring from the mouth. The ship fit Droite perfectly.

Her partner's ship wasn't nearly as impressive, yet still had some pretty amazing effects to it. The Judgment was twice as slow as the Guardian (one of the toughest yet slowest ship in existence), sporting a thick armor plating on both wings. Four engines, two per side, propelled the eloquently equipped monster through space. Its weapons were meant to stop someone in their tracks and keep them there for a while; this ship was pure defense.

That was why these two kept on winning. Gauche would act as a distraction while Droite flew to the front and stayed there. Their strategy was nearly impossible to break.

Once the interview was over, the reporter spoke again, while the camera angle adjusted to show the landing pad for all twenty craft. Located somewhere near Prometheus, the station that held the ships and their pilots was huge, being nearly as large as Jarnsaxa, another of Saturn's nearly unknown moons. The landing pad was a large half-dome over a rather giant platform with various white markings Haruto didn't understand. The pilots began to retreat to their respective ships, and Droite flashed a small smiled at the camera before disappearing into the cockpit.

It was a shame that the boy didn't know the true reason why Droite and Gauche kept winning.

…

Droite knew that Haruto was watching. She smiled just for him, because she knew he loved her coy little smiles. As she felt the camera go to the next pilot, she let the expression slide from her face and gathered up her mane of hair into a bun, wrapping a rubber band around the black tangle before sliding her helmet on. The visor came down over her eyes, but that didn't make a difference; she could already see the course being plotted out for her, the numbers flowing and the lines creating the desired directions she should take.

This would be a sprint from Saturn straight to humanity's dead home planet, Earth.

"Racers, start your engines!" The cry came over the intercom in her ear, making her wince. God, that robotic piece of junk they called an announcer needed to calm down and not swallow the microphone. The roar of each ship as they were started dominated the landing pad; Droite could even hear it despite the thick windshield of her craft. "Now, there are some rules we want you to follow while you're out there. This is a full on sprint to Earth. That means that, when you get there, a teleporter ring will be waiting. The first racer to reach the ring and pass through it will win a massive cash prize! Remember, no lasers and no slamming into another ship! And, as always, no destroying a ship! That's all!"

Droite smirked slightly. At least her curse could be really helpful in this situation.

Gauche's voice could be heard over her private intercom channel. "Don't be too crazy out there."

What he really meant was to be careful not to reveal that she was a Cy-Tech. She only sighed, nodded, and started the engines of her ship, taking the two separate joysticks used to control each engine separately. The Nemesis roared, the metal groaning slightly as she moved the joysticks independent of each other, seeing if the engines moved the same way; and indeed, they did.

The dome began to lift, allowing the pilots to pull their craft into orbit around the station. The starting line (two asteroids with lots of lights on them) was nearly ten thousand kilometers away from the station; simple travel for the spacecraft, of course.

Once everyone was at the starting line, the same dumb robot from before started jabbering away. "This sprint should take you no more than an hour to complete! I do hope you all are careful!"

Droite stared upwards, toward a constellation she didn't recognize, and closed her eyes for one second, taking a deep breath.

"Now… GO!"

…

…

_-Three Earth Days Afterwards- -Siral, Venus-_

Kaito frowned. He was looking out from the bridge leading to a nearby weaponry, preparing to get a gun (required, unfortunately, for soldiers of his rank) and some other gear before heading out on the new mission he was assigned to. There was something passing through the clouds, fire billowing out in two streams from behind the object. He narrowed his eyes and took out a one-visored gazer (a device used much like binoculars, only much more advanced and going over only one eye), placing it over his left eye and adjusting it to focus on the object.

"Wait… that's not right." He zeroed in on the object, which was approaching a distant mountain at a deadly rate of speed.

It was a spaceship, something he hadn't seen in years.

From what he could tell, it had two engines (maybe more; the ship was falling so fast and fire was pouring out of it so quickly he couldn't tell) and was built from materials he had never seen. He watched as it somewhat leveled at and slammed into the ground, fire billowing upwards from where it had impacted.

"Eh, I'll just tell Heartland about it later, I guess." And without a second thought, he pulled the gazer off and proceeded to make his way to the weaponry. Besides, this mission he had received was much more important than a ship plummeting into the ground outside Siral territory.

* * *

**_A/Ns: I'll reveal the race next chapter. I feel like it's required to do that._**

**_Um… review… please._**


	3. Crashing on Venus

**_Venus Wars_**

**_Chapter 2_**

**_A/Ns: Okay, since last chapter had hardly any crap in it, I'll try and make this good for y'all reading this._**

* * *

_Mars System, Two Days Prior…_

The planet infamous for its red surface was speckled with small lakes and patches of foliage. Droite gazed out the window and looked down at the land, passed the white clouds that partially covered the planet. She could easily spot Corponia, the largest of the Mars colonies; it was a circular building stretching almost a mile off the Martian landscape and possessing thousands of windows to let in sunlight for the gardens inside. Mars was certainly beautiful now that it was springtime there; only the richest of humanity could live on this planet.

The Cy-Tech woman growled inwardly and focused her attention on the Waypoint, the marker for which was located relatively close to Memorex. Droite cursed as she spotted some of the military airships flying around the area, a few of which were exiting the station on Phobos. They were shaped like triangles, their massive machine and laser guns perched on each wing, which possessed nearly four of each per side. The ships were designed to protect Memorex, for that floating hunk of AI machinery was humanity's last hope of survival against the Solar System's harsh conditions.

"Droite, veer left," Gauche's voice spoke through her intercom. She nearly jumped at hearing him speak so suddenly, but she did as he ordered, banking left hard. An EMP laser beam passed right beside her ship, nearly nicking the Nemesis' right wing. It was a good thing that the laser hadn't hit her ship; it would have incapacitated the entire thing if the impact had connected. She stayed in position towards the left until she was sure that Gauche had taken care of the person who'd tried to take her out, then slid back into the path best fit, according to what the data flashing across her retinas was directing her towards.

The race so far had been uneventful, excluding the weapon just fired at her. She had reached first place when they had exited the Saturn System, and had gained a pretty large lead over the competition. Gauche remained in third, using his weapons to keep the rest of the pack off their heels. But the second place contender would not let up. As soon as he had caught up to the two of them, he'd knocked Gauche down to third and kept him there while trying to immobilize Droite's ship.

"More like take it out," she murmured to herself, rolling her eyes. She could sense that the pilot behind her had bad intentions and was indeed trying to destroy her ship, but she was able to avoid him thanks to the cursed Cy-Tech abilities she had.

Droite angled the engines of the Nemesis towards the right, zooming straight towards the Waypoint. Just over the edge of Mars, she spotted Memorex, orbiting along with the red planet's two moons. Memorex was absolutely huge; about the size of Mercury, the ship had its own gravitational tug on the celestial objects around it. It was long, shaped similar to the aircraft carriers of Earth's past, with two enormous "satellite" dishes on both long sides of its elongated frame. Several spacecraft flew around it, guarding the AI fiercely. The female pilot grimaced as she spotted one of the screens located near the dish on the left side, projecting the assumed facial form that Memorex took; a male, of possibly fifteen Earth years of age, smiled on the screen, his bright blue eyes and spiky blue hair aglow as he spoke to the intercoms that listened.

"Memorex…" Gauche murmured quietly. He too was awed by the ship's appearance. Droite simply growled at him to shut up before he lost focus.

"Not now, you blubbering idiot," she spoke harshly, "We've got a race to win."

"Yeah, yeah, get off my ass about it, will ya?"

Droite steered towards the Waypoint and passed through the ring that told of the checkpoint. She heard a beep in her intercom and then the location of the next Waypoint appeared on the dashboard; she didn't need to look, however, since she could clearly see the best route to the next checkpoint. Smirking, she hit a button on one of the joysticks, which then propelled the Nemesis forward at nearly the speed of light. The two behind her did the same thing, their ships trailing behind slightly.

Dodging through various clusters of asteroids, and passing Ceres as it floated through its orbit, she eventually started to near the desired destination; Earth. The dead planet could barely be distinguished from the black space around it, the half-destroyed moon following the once life-filled ball through space. Earth was no longer a planet filled with greens and blues; no, it was almost completely filled with smoke and barren land. Black soot covered the ground where the oceans used to be, while dark grey clouds cluttered the skies. As Droite gazed at the planet when she neared it, data and files of the history of Earth flashed, distracting her slightly. The radiation levels on the surface were far beyond safe levels, as was the amount of carbon dioxide and arsenic in the air. There were almost no traces of oxygen in the atmosphere; just poisonous elements that could kill someone it they so decided to explore its surface.

"Droite, look out!"

The woman barely had any time to avoid the barrage of bullets coming her way. She flipped one of the Nemesis' engines around so the thrust of that engine was opposite of the other, and spun in a half circle, facing the second place racer as he approached. She analyzed his expression since he wasn't wearing a helmet, and could tell that he was determined to kill her.

Droite slipped off her helmet after turning the engines off on her ship, flipping back the one she had turned around. Smiling, she stared at the guy as he flew closer in his Defiance, preparing one last shot on his Laser Lance.

Into her intercom channel directed at him, she said, "Game over."

Then she pressed a button on her dashboard, which launched a nuke from the left wing of the Nemesis. The guy in the Defiance had no chance to avoid the nuclear bomb as it slammed into him full-force. The resulting explosion sent Droite's ship flying backwards, but she wasn't at all worried; instead, she pulled the joysticks back and flipped the Nemesis onto its back, using the energy sent from the blast to send her straight to the last Waypoint, and the teleporter that would take her back to Saturn.

"Droite, I have an idea," Gauche said very quietly. The woman blinked, slowing her ship so Gauche could pull up beside her in Judgment. He looked over at her, frowning. "You know that break we've been waiting for?"

"Yes…" Droite didn't like the way this was going.

"Well, I propose and idea to get Haruto to his brother."

…

…

_Siral Border, Venus, Two Days Later_

Kaito grumbled as he hauled a shotgun over his shoulder. He didn't exactly care for firearms; they made battles for him too easy. The two men that were with him, one guy in his forties and the other only a couple of years older than the eldest Tenjo boy, didn't look happy either; this wasn't a good mission to take on to begin with. Their informant was going to meet them outside the borders of Siral, near a racing circuit that was supposedly in the area.

The blonde sighed, dropping the shotgun to the ground and stretching. "Damn that Heartland," he grumbled, "All he ever cares about is getting his goddamn information. No ifs, ands, or buts to speak of."

The oldest of the three spoke up. "He's all we have on this ball of shitty excuses for cities."

"You have that right, Geo," the other guy said. "Siral ain't the best of places, but still better than being frozen an' bloated out in space."

"Geo, Force, shut up will you?" Kaito growled at the two, picking up his shotgun. "We've gotta be on our toes for this mission. The people who race those motorcycles aren't getting any friendlier as the months go by." He began trekking forward again. "Hurry your asses up; we don't have a whole lot of time to get this done."

His little group began to follow him as they travelled over the desert landscape. The ground was a sickly yellow color, the dust rising up and creating small dust-devils that littered the area. Geo sniffed, brushing his greying hair out of his face, while Force kept shaking his shaggy red hair around to get the dust out. Kaito just glared at the two, wishing he had a slightly better group to work with than these two.

There was black smoke floating up in the distance, and Kaito recalled the ship he had seen nearly three hours ago plummet into the ground. He could just barely see the craft, what left of its nose buried in the yellowed sand. Force began to question why there was a hunk of metal debris smoking just over the horizon, but Geo silenced him.

"We haven't seen one of those in years," the old man spoke. "I think that might be of the Defense Class spaceship."

"How do you know this, old geezer?" Force asked. "I mean, you're damn old. Were you here when they set up Siral and Aedaria?"

"Indeed I was, son," Geo said. "My name wasn't Geo then, when I was a kid. I remember the days of the Defender League, set up to protect the Solar System from fallin' apart, I reckon. I believe that ship burning to a crisp over yonder is from the Defense Class, a Judgment. Powerful suckers, if I may add."

"_Guys_," Kaito urged, "We can talk about that hunk of shit later. Let's just get this damn mission over with?"

The two men glared at the blonde. "Fine, fine," Force said, waving his hand. "Way to be a buzz kill, kid."

Kaito then proceeded to chew the redhead out for calling him a kid. Then, slowly, another ship descended through the clouds, this time heading straight for their little group.

…

…

"This was a bad idea," Droite murmured to herself as she approached the yellow planet. Her passenger stood in his seat and looked over the back of hers, his golden eyes curious.

"Droite?" Haruto asked nervously. "Are you sure my nii-san is down there?"

"Positive," she replied. "Now sit down. It's going to get bumpy once we hit atmo."

"Okay!" The little Tenjo strapped himself into his seat, peering out of the window. This was his first time (that he knew of, anyway!) in a spaceship, or out in space for that matter. He was excited, purely excited, to be heading to the planet on which he was born, but he was also scared. He had heard tales of the two countries fighting on the planet and that his brother was in the army of one of those countries. Haruto simply couldn't fathom that his brother had become a fearsome soldier that could kill anyone on the spot.

But, whether or not his brother recognized him or not, Haruto would still try to reunite with him.

"Alright, I hope you're ready, Haruto," Droite suddenly said. "We're entering the Venus atmosphere. Hold on to something."

As fire began to build up on the windshield and panels of the Nemesis, the ship shook, vibrating as it penetrated the air of Venus. Haruto squeaked and held onto the sides of the small cockpit, shutting his eyes tightly. He couldn't watch as they descended through the clouds, even if he really wanted to. Droite said something under her breath that he didn't catch and veered hard to the right, which caused him to fall hard against one side of the cockpit.

"Haruto," Droite then spoke up as she suddenly leveled the ship out. "I have a question to ask."

As soon as he had steadied himself, the boy looked up. "Yeah?"

"Do you know how to fly a ship like the Nemesis?"

Odd question to ask a ten year-old, but he shrugged nonetheless. "I think so. You showed me how to operate the system once."

She then turned her head, looking at him over her shoulder. "If things go bad, I want you to take my ship and fly to the middle continent, got it? I don't want you in danger more than we've already put you in, and having you in the clutches of either Siral or Aedaria would be bad news for the rest of the System. I only want you to find a boy named Ryouga in the IRA, alright?"

"Yes, but, who is he?"

"He's a boy I know from my time on Pluto." Droite then turned her attention to the direction she was heading. "He and I trained together." She then became silent. For a few moments, the only thing that could be heard was the engines and the shifting joysticks. Then she said, "Gauche rammed that thing into the ground. I hope he's alright."

She pushed the joysticks forward, which caused the Nemesis to slowly dive down. She and her passenger gazed down at the fallen Judgment, which was a smoking hunk of junk lodged into the side of an extinct volcano. The wings were snapped off and the cockpit was halfway buried beneath the sand. A group of men were hauling a body towards the ship, but from what she could tell, it wasn't Gauche; the body was far too skinny to be her partner.

She could only hope that he had found some way to escape before those nasty looking men had arrived. She had only caught a trail of his life force, not much, but at least she knew he was alive.

"What's over there?" Haruto suddenly questioned, pointing towards a different group of people, three to be exact, traveling slowly over the dunes. Droite narrowed her eyes, analyzing the blurred faces of the three. When she gazed at the blonde one, she gasped quietly.

"I think I found your brother, Haruto," she said, turning the joysticks to direct the ship towards the three men. Haruto made some kind of cheer, clapping his hands.

"Yay!" he cried, smiling!

Droite wasn't so sure about this, but she took the initiative and descended on the three like a vulture, directing her weapons downwards along with the engines as they neared the ground. The three were obviously shocked, pointing their guns at the ship as she brought it down to land in front of them. Turning to Haruto, she pressed a finger to her lips to keep him silent.

"Stay down," she spoke. "If they see you, you'll be in big trouble."

He nodded. "I know," he whispered. She could clearly see that he wanted to see his brother badly, but they had been separated for several years. Nobody could be sure if the blonde Tenjo was still the same after all this time on the war-ravaged Venus.

The female Cy-Tech then grabbed her microphone from the dash, placing it over her ear so the mouthpiece was over her lips. She glanced at the three males who pointed their guns at her ship, telling her to step down from the ship before they came and shot her.

"I advise against that," she said to them through the mic. The loudspeakers located on the nose of the Nemesis blared at them, which caused them to wince. "I have two hundred nuclear bombs onboard. If you don't want me sending this entire planet up in flames, I suggest you put those weapons down and cooperate."

Kaito, the blonde one in the middle, didn't place his gun down, but his comrades did, setting them in the sand. Kaito obviously wasn't happy with his men putting their arms down, glaring at the two angrily.

Droite smiled at this. "Tenjo Kaito, place your gun on the ground or I'll come over there and do it for you."

"How about you come out of that piece of shit contraption and let me teach you a lesson?" he yelled back, cocking the shotgun. She rolled her eyes, pressing a button on the dash to lift the windshield from the cockpit. Standing, she stepped out onto the nose, shooting one last look at Haruto before jumping off to the ground below.

As soon as she landed in a crouch on the ground, Kaito came at her, foregoing the shotgun and using a grabbing a knife from his jacket. Smirking, she jumped out of the way just as he threw the knife. It bounced off the metal shell of the Nemesis and landed on the ground.

_At least that chip is good for something,_ she thought. The blonde teen glared at her, taking a fighting stance as he pulled another knife from his jacket. She felt her pupils dilate as she analyzed his movements, how his muscles tensed under his skin as he prepared to attack her. Kaito growled, and then started running, holding the knife high as he came at her full tilt. As the data flow took over, Droite let herself get taken by the numbers and letters filling her vision; she jumped into the air and avoided the strike he was about to deliver, then kicked him hard in the chest, sending him flying into the landing gear of the Nemesis. He yelled out in pain, slumping to the ground, as she landed back on the ground.

"Like I said," she began, dusting her hands off, "You'll pay if you don't cooperate."

Kaito stood slowly, glaring strongly at her. "Who the hell are you?" he asked harshly. His two partners seemed to want to know the answer to the question as well.

Droite sighed. "I'm just a woman trying to bring two brothers together," she said. "But for right now… I think I'll be your best bet at surviving what's going to happen in three seconds."

And in that precise amount of time, the two older guys fell, a bullet hole in each of their heads.

Droite turned to her ship and yelled, "Fly baby fly!" Which, in other words, meant for Haruto to take the Nemesis and get the hell out of there.

The boy got the message and climbed into the front seat, closing the windshield and taking the joysticks in his hands as he started the ship. He gulped, biting his lip as he tried to remember the mechanics of the ship, and slowly lifted it into the air. Below, Droite pulled Kaito away from the landing gear as the Nemesis rose. She glanced once at the craft before Haruto shakily took off, soaring into the clouds.

That was when she felt a bullet slice straight through her leg.

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**_A/Ns: Wow, long! I wasn't expecting this to get so long. Review!_**


	4. Captured!

**_A/N: Sorry for taking so damn long on my fics lately. I was at the hospital on Monday, so you can understand that I've had a pretty hellish week so far._**

**_Anyway, I'm just gonna make this chappy a bit shorter than normal, since I'm having difficulty with time and internet._**

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Even though she felt the injury, the pain didn't register. The chip that made up most of her brain diverted all of her focus on physical strength. Kaito gazed at her in alarm, seeing blood spurt from the wound in her thigh. She lowered her hand to cover the wound, whipping around just in time to dodge a bullet zipping past her face.

"Kaito, we're getting ambushed," she stated after jumping backwards over the blonde. "I suggest you get whatever weapons you have and prepare to battle."

"What the fuck are you?" was his immediate response. But he took her advice, taking out some throwing knives from his jacket. Droite glared at him, advising him to use his shotgun, but he only ignored the firearm. Sighing in exasperation, she yanked the gun from him and grabbed the barrel.

Over the small hill appeared a rather large gang of men, all holding futuristic weapons. Their guns were pointed at them as a multitude of desert vehicles parked behind them. Droite narrowed her gaze at the men, preparing to use the gun she held as a club (she didn't know how to use the weapons produced here, obviously).

Yellow dust blew across the area, giving Droite an opening to strike. As she let data overrun her vision, she ran forward with almost inhuman speed, kicking the first man in the face as she made it over the hill. She heard Kaito following her before gunshots rang out. Among all the bullets being fired, she saw the blonde soldier physically fighting the guys that surrounded them on all sides, using opportunities to chuck knives at the other men as he fought.

More bullets tore through her body, but she still didn't feel pain. She knew that she was at risk here; most military operations had a scanner programmed to identify people like her, so they could exterminate her kind. But even then, there was only weapon that could render her unresponsive for a large period of time.

The next guy she came to, she punched a hole straight through his chest. With the chip diverting every resource available to her physical actions, she was considered a superhuman; that's what the damn government had wanted, anyway.

"I suggest you stop now, bitch, before I kill your friend here," a heavy male voice said, forcing the Cy-Tech to stop. Holding a guy's trachea in one hand, she turned to face who had spoken, to see that an orange-haired male was holding Kaito against him, knife to the blonde's throat.

Still overwhelmed by the chip in her brain, she spoke in a monotonous robotic voice. "And why should I care about what you do to filth like him?" she questioned, dropping the human remains she held to the ground. "I don't even care about this planet, or who lives on it."

Kaito was obviously shocked. He had tried to get out of this guy's grip, but since he was badly injured (two gunshots to the stomach and one in his leg) he couldn't move. And then there was a knife to his neck, pressing dangerously deep into his skin. He looked at the woman, seeing that her pupils nearly swallowed her irises, a plain, maybe even bored, expression on her face.

"Just kill him," Kaito said, coughing up blood. "I don't care what happens to me."

"Silence, hostage," the man growled, nearly slicing the artery in Kaito's neck. "So, bitch, do you want to come with me and my gang to join the Venus Races?"

Droite came forward, jumping up onto the platform of the tank the two stood on. "And why should I, asshole?" She hissed at him. Kaito noted the large amount of blood pouring from her wounds, which covered her white flight suit.

The orange-haired man smiled. "I know what you are," he said. Instantly, her eyes went wide. "And either way, you're coming with me. Alit, do it."

Before Droite could get a word out, she felt somebody press a nine-volt battery to her neck. Even if, to humans, it did no damage, to her, it shorted out the chip that made up her brain. She felt a click in her head and she fell to the ground, eyes wide open but resembling a dead fish's.

The boy that stood behind Droite smiled. "Okay, Vector, let's get out of here."

"Agreed." Punching Kaito hard enough across the face to knock him out, Vector tossed both of his hostages into the tank.

…

…

"A Cy-Tech, huh?" Mizael questioned, crossing his arms as he looked at the woman lying in the bed within the holding room. She had multiple fluid lines attached to her to give her nutrients and remove waste from her blood. "Never thought I'd see one in my life time."

"They are quite rare, indeed," Durbe stated, adjusting his glasses. He was the doctor of this particular racing gang (as well as their leader), so he was quite intrigued when Vector brought in this peculiar woman. "I have read up on their species. They are truly extraordinary."

"What even are they?" Alit asked. He wasn't too well-versed in the subject. "I heard rumors, but I wasn't sure they were true."

"Cy-Techs are basically synthetic humans," Durbe explained. "Their full species name is Cyborg Technology. A group of scientists developed them for the government, raising a hundred prototypes from artificial sperm and eggs. Their brains are almost purely machine; they can choose which functions to use and which to shut off. That is why this woman defeated so many of our men."

"Is she like, a superhuman?" the youngest of them piped up again. His eyes were trained on the Cy-Tech. Her eyes were still open, appearing dead almost, even though she remained unconscious.

"The brain mechanism makes it seem like it," the doc replied. "Unfortunately, that is not the case. It merely forces other functions to shut off to allow others to be used more. They can use their bodies much more than simple humans can."

"Shall we tell the soldier about her yet?" Mizael suddenly interjected, pointing with his thumb over his shoulder, towards the other holding room behind them. Alit turned to look at the injured guy, frowning, while Durbe simply pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose again.

"No, I do not think that is a wise choice," he said. "Cy-Techs are hated greatly in this society. If he knows about her, he will not agree to race as her partner."

Mizael nodded. "But if she survives, I call a piece of her."

Durbe shut his eyes. "Sure, do as you wish to her."

…

…

Haruto shakily guided the Nemesis over the middle continent, having to stand on the seat in order to look down at the yellow/brown ground. The ship veered hard to one side, and he yanked on the joysticks, getting it back in control.

"Great. Where the heck am I supposed to land this thing?" Gazing across the landscape, he managed to spot a person standing next to a motorcycle in the middle of practically nowhere. Since Haruto had little fuel left in the Nemesis and he was growing exhausted, he took the bird down before he somehow crashed it.

The person who had been looking through a compartment on the motorcycle looked up at the ship. His hair was tied up, a cap on his head, but it was obvious that it resembled an octopus. His hand lowered to the gun on his hip as he watched the craft approach him. He recognized it, however, and narrowed his eyes.

Once Haruto had managed to land the thing, he reached up and hit a button to open the windshield. Exhausted, he didn't even make it out of the cockpit before he collapsed on the dashboard. The guy with the motorcycle frowned, seeing the boy splayed out over the front.

"Droite, why did you bring him here, of all things…" the guy muttered just as Haruto looked up again, his eyes blurry.

"Who are you…?" the young boy asked, his gaze all over as he tried to focus.

The guy with the motorcycle huffed. "Kamishiro Ryouga," he answered simply. "Droite sent you, I'm assuming."

Haruto merely nodded before he passed out.

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**_A/N: There. Review!_**


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